About the 1st District

Arizona’s First Congressional District was created by an independent redistricting commission following the 2000 census. The district is located in the northern and eastern part of the state and covers more than 58,000 square miles. It is larger than the states of Pennsylvania and Illinois and is the largest congressional district that does not encompass an entire state. It includes five complete counties and parts of three others. It is a primarily rural district; the largest city is Flagstaff with a population of 65,000. Other major cities in the district include the Quad City Area (Prescott, Prescott Valley, Chino Valley, and Dewey-Humboldt) Camp Verde/Cottonwood, Winslow, Show Low, Safford, Casa Grande, and Florence.

The district encompasses a wide variety of interests, including a large service sector, mining and ranching interests, a large university and several community colleges, a sizeable science community, and a large number of retirees. Almost a quarter of the district’s population (23 percent) is Native American or Hispanic American.

The population of the district, according to the 2000 Census is 641,329. Males make up 50.8 percent of the population and females make up 49.2 percent. The median age is 35.3 years old and the median household income is $32,979. The ethnic composition is 65.8% White, 1.3% Black, 0.5% Asian, 22.6% Native American, 0.1% Pacific Islander, 7.5% Other, 16.4% Hispanic (of any race)*

* Adapted from "The 2002 Arizona First Congressional District Race", a study by Dr. Frederic I. Solop, Northern Arizona University